I have a few questions on what to do on my 63

[Strykerta]

I have the body off my 63 stepside and im going to take it to the blasters soon so i can get this project moving. Ive been doing alot of research but was looking to see if theres a good pool of info for my questions that i cant solve..
1) i am trying to find a 5 bolt disc rear setup that will fit under this im not afraid to cut and weld all my perches from this stock onto the newer unit im just not sure if theres a specific year to look for with the same wheel base?
2) is there a good starting point on how to build my own air suspension for this truck. Im not the type to go out and buy a premade system id rather save the money and waste the time learning myself but need a few pointers how to get it all going and what products are best for the buck.
3)i have alot of body panels to repair and partially replace mainly the whole lower floor. is there any place to buy quality panels other than lmctruck?
4)one other question is what offset rim does this truck use? im planning on throwing atleast 18x8's on it.

Thanks for all your help. Ill post up pics soon.

[Strykerta]

[Captainfab]

Originally Posted by Strykerta

I have the body off my 63 stepside and im going to take it to the blasters soon so i can get this project moving. Ive been doing alot of research but was looking to see if theres a good pool of info for my questions that i cant solve..
1) i am trying to find a 5 bolt disc rear setup that will fit under this im not afraid to cut and weld all my perches from this stock onto the newer unit im just not sure if theres a specific year to look for with the same wheel base?

A rear differential from a '71 or '72 C10 will be mostly a direct bolt in if your truck has coils in the rear. One from a '73-'87 C10 will work as well, but you will need to do some cutting and welding to install it in your '63

Originally Posted by Strykerta

2) is there a good starting point on how to build my own air suspension for this truck. Im not the type to go out and buy a premade system id rather save the money and waste the time learning myself but need a few pointers how to get it all going and what products are best for the buck.

I can't help you much with that other than direct you to the suspension forum and the 'Projects and Builds' subforum here in the '60-'66 forum. Board member protrash64 built his own air ride system and did a nice job. You might check out his Suburban in the 'Projects and Builds'

Originally Posted by Strykerta

3)i have alot of body panels to repair and partially replace mainly the whole lower floor. is there any place to buy quality panels other than lmctruck?

Yes there are several places to get repair panels. One place is Classic Parts, but there are board Vendors here that sell them as well. Check with MBGMike and Tri-Pro Automotive here on the forums.

Originally Posted by Strykerta

4)one other question is what offset rim does this truck use? im planning on throwing atleast 18x8's on it.

Sorry but I can't help you there. I'm sure there will be someone else that can

Originally Posted by Strykerta

Thanks for all your help. Ill post up pics soon.

[vin63]

Originally Posted by Strykerta

2) is there a good starting point on how to build my own air suspension for this truck. Im not the type to go out and buy a premade system id rather save the money and waste the time learning myself but need a few pointers how to get it all going and what products are best for the buck.

For the rear, the air spring will be relatively a bolt-in application, but you will need to fabricate a spacer for the top of the spring for access to the air inlet. Here's a photo of my rear air spring - note the spacer with hole (for air hose access) and mount plate.



For the front, it will be easier to fabricate an upper mount plate that covers the upper coil spring pocket, again for access to the air inlet, than trying to fit an air spring inside of the coil spring pocket.



4)one other question is what offset rim does this truck use? im planning on throwing atleast 18x8's on it.

This will be largely determined by the width of the rearend you select.

I hope that helps...being partial to '63s, it looks like a cool project.

[Strykerta]

yea its definately a project. right now its 3 peices a frame a cab and a bed all in different areas of my shop. I am about to pull the motor this weekend and swap in my newer front member so i can have 5lug disc in the front. my main deal next is finding 5 lug disc for the back that still works on my coil rear. its gonna be a long project. thanks for the info

[vin63]

Originally Posted by Strykerta

yea its definately a project. right now its 3 peices a frame a cab and a bed all in different areas of my shop. I am about to pull the motor this weekend and swap in my newer front member so i can have 5lug disc in the front. my main deal next is finding 5 lug disc for the back that still works on my coil rear. its gonna be a long project. thanks for the info

You don't need to swap out the crossmember for 5-lug disc brakes up front. Check with the vintage truck parts vendors for the disc brake kits for reference...you can piece together parts, most of my disc brake parts are from a 71-72 GM truck. For the rearend, the disc brakes a mostly determined by the housing type and the housing end. Good luck.